Tag Archives: Paul George

Thunder At A Glance – 23 August 2018

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img_4063Charlotte Edmonds (The Observer) with a piece on Russell Westbrook that will have many of us nodding our heads in agreement: “I’m not trying to suggest that Westbrook is a great player by virtue of his commitment to one team. By that logic, Udonis Haslem would’ve been inducted to the Hall of Fame by now. Rather, I’m arguing that players like Westbrook represent one of the things that are still great about sports — standing by a community instead of trading in a “sacred legacy for cheap jewelry,” in the words of Reggie Miller.”

Micah Adams and Scott Rafferty (NBA.com) look at Kobe Bryant’s top 40 rivals as he turns 40 years of age: “Some of the biggest names in today’s NBA see shades of Kobe when they watch Westbrook. Even Kobe sees it. According to Lakers Nation, Kobe said Westbrook is the player who reminds him the most of himself. “When I turn on the TV and I watch players play, the player that plays with the same kind of emotion and grit and competitive intensity is Russell.” Continue reading Thunder At A Glance – 23 August 2018 →

Thunder At A Glance – 22 August 2018

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img_4063Alex Kennedy (HoopsHype) interviews Jerami Grant about this upcoming season: “I’ve definitely had my ups and downs when it comes to my shooting. I’ve shot the ball well one year, then [my percentage] may go down a little bit the next year. Then it may go up again and then down again the following year. One thing I’ve learned from experience is that you have to get game reps in during the summer. This summer, I’ve been trying to get as many game reps in as possible, shooting the ball quickly and trying to get a lot of pick-up in to simulate real-time game speed. There’s a big difference between shooting in workouts and shooting in games, which is why I’m trying to get games reps this summer.”

Nick Gallo (OKCThunder.com) on Jerami Grant, the finisher: “To be fair, some of Grant’s growth is just natural, and has come with physical maturation and added experience. He was just 22 years old when he joined the Thunder on November 1, 2016. Heading into his third year, he’s a 24-year-old with 6,621 minutes of regular season playing time in 303 professional games. Confident in his role and his abilities, Grant has earned the trust and formed bonds with team leaders like Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams, along with Paul George, who also re-signed with the Thunder this offseason.” Continue reading Thunder At A Glance – 22 August 2018 →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 21 August 2018

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img_4063The Thunder will continue their long-standing relationship with WWLS: The Sports Animal: “The Sports Animal has been a tremendous and loyal partner since our inception in Oklahoma City in 2008. The station’s strong listener base and powerful reach have made it the ideal radio partner. We are excited to continue this successful relationship,” said Dan Mahoney, the Thunder’s vice president of broadcasting.”

Brady Trantham (The Franchise) on how new assistant coach Bob Beyer could help the Thunder: “With the Pistons, Beyer was pivotal in influencing the switch from a heavy based pick-and-roll offense for the first three years of his tenure in Detroit into a motion attack.” Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 21 August 2018 →

The Thunder’s Summer of Love

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abrines dre weddingIf the Oklahoma City Thunder’s summer could be encapsulated into one word, that word would be “love”. Not that smooshy, Barney-inspired “I love you, you love me” love. No. What the Thunder have shown this offseason is love that is running hand in hand with their maturing nature. This isn’t a bunch of 20-somethings planning how they are going to get laid on a Saturday night. It’s not Thunder U, anymore. The Thunder’s core is past the point where words like love, marriage, and monogamy are just reserved for the 12-year vet at the end of the bench. They are, in a word, getting older.

As fans, we sometimes view athletes as overgrown teenagers with huge allowances. Man-children looking for the next great thrill after the game. A player gets into a bar fight: Oh, that’s just boys being boys. A players ends up with 8 children from 6 different women. Welp, that’s athletes for you. We celebrate the man’s man, living the single, athlete life vicariously through our favorite ball players. Continue reading The Thunder’s Summer of Love →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 16 August 2018

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img_4063Lawrence George (Thunderous Intentions) on why the Vegas odds differ from those of ESPN’s Kevin Pelton: “Westgate lines from Vegas and Pelton’s projections tell two different stories. Vegas expect Oklahoma City to improve while KP predicts the Thunder to be the same or slightly worse despite trading Anthony and acquiring a number of young assets.”

Brian Mazique (Forbes) on Russell Westbrook’s 2K rating: “This just might be the most accurate representation of Westbrook we’ve seen in any sports video game. Previous years, we’ve seen some questionable renders surface for Westbrook, but this one is probably the benchmark. Westbrook is coming off his second straight season averaging a triple-double.” Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 16 August 2018 →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 14 August 2018

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img_4063Erik Horne (NewsOK) on the Thunder signing Tyler Davis to their final 2-way contract: “Davis (6-foot-10, 265 pounds) averaged 13.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in three seasons at Texas A&M. Davis’s signing was first reported by Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports.”

Alex Miller (Dallas News) looks at Tyler Davis’ draft journey: “Davis went undrafted in June’s NBA Draft, but soon signed a deal with the Brooklyn Nets and stayed with the team through Summer League action. In four Summer League games with the Nets, Davis averaged 11.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.”

Berry Tramel (NewsOK) on the Thunder having a case of the Mondays: “One side effect is more games on week nights. One benefit is fewer home games bunched together. One of the major commitments of Thunder ticket-holders is time. When the Thunder hosts three or four home games in a seven- or eight-day span, it taxes fans’ ability to get to the arena.” Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 14 August 2018 →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings -13 August 2018

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Give a listen to the new episode of the NTTB Podcast. We discuss whether Russell Westbrook is running out of excuses, review the schedule, and much more. 

Erik Horne (NewsOK) chronicling the loss of long time NBA/Thunder photographer Layne Murdoch, who passed away on August 10: “We’ve lost a friend and special member of the Thunder family,” the post reads. “Layne was among the best in the business and a fixture on the Thunder baseline for the first ten seasons. The images he captured at our games and events provide a vivid archive of our team and organization. Beyond his skills as a photographer, Layne’s smile, sense of humor and engaging personality connected him with anyone he met. He had a deep passion for his craft, our team and our city.”

Condolences to Layne Murdoch’s family and friends. Lord knows, a lot of the pictures on this website have been used without his permission. He was a technician with the camera. He could tell a story with his pictures.  Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings -13 August 2018 →

NTTB Podcast – Episode 41 (The Schedule’s Out)

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IMG_4109On Episode 41 of the NTTB podcast, we discuss the following topics:

  • Nina Westbrook looking a bit further along than previously thought
  • Oklahoma GOP holding an event at Paul George’s old OKC home
  • Andre Roberson running on a treadmill
  • Westbrook running out of excuses
  • Reviewing the Thunder’s schedule
  • Predicting the Thunder’s win/loss record
  • NBA News
  • NCAA rule changes
  • RIP Layne Murdoch

Intro/Outro music provided by OSC Productions

Thank you for listening. We will be doing a podcast once a week. If you have any Thunder or NBA related questions, make sure you hit us up on Twitter (@alexroig_NTTB or @Montero_A13).

We are on ITunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Tune In under the NTTB Podcast. Make sure you leave us a 5-star review if you can. As always, Thunder Up!

https://www.buzzsprout.com/111153/774396-episode-41-schedule-s-out.mp3?download=true

Quick Dive into the Thunder’s 2018-19 Schedule

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russ pgAfter releasing their prime time games to begin the season, for Christmas, and for Martin Luther King Jr Day on Wednesday, the NBA finally blessed us all with the complete 82 game schedule of all the teams in the league. Further solidifying their stance on player rest and increased health, the NBA schedule makers have once again blessed teams with a schedule devoid of the four-games-in-five-nights scenario and the even scarier eight-games-in-12-nights atrocity. In addition, back-to-backs are at historic lows, with teams averaging just 13.3 back-to-backs this season (it was 14.4 last season).

The Thunder once again benefit from being in the middle of the country. Their longest road trip is just four games. In addition, they also have four 3-game road trips. They are involved in 11 back-to-back games. Two of those 11 are road/road back-to-backs. Two are of the home/home variety. Five are of the road/home variety. And two of them are of the home/road variety.  Continue reading Quick Dive into the Thunder’s 2018-19 Schedule →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 06 August 2018

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Check out the new episode of the NTTB Podcast, where we christen the Westbrooks with the name of their new bundle of joy, we discuss who should start at power forward, and we discuss the LeBron James vs. Donald Trump debate.

Nick Gallo (OKCThunder.com) looks at what Patrick Patterson can bring to the Thunder this upcoming season: “A step behind to start the year, Patterson’s role ended up being a 15-minute-per-game player, with averages of 3.9 points on an admirable 38.6 percent three-point shooting, along with 2.4 rebounds per game. In 2018-19, the Thunder and Patterson himself believe he can contribute more, not just on the stat sheet but also in terms of the team’s overall gameplay and style.”

Gallo (OKCThunder.com) chronicled the Thunder’s day at Lake Castaic in Paul George’s fishing tournament: “But then came one of the final boats, which included Nader, the newcomer to the Thunder roster who hadn’t fished before despite always enjoying the outdoors. Throughout the 6 hours on the lake, George, Westbrook and Roberson had been visible and camped out along the shore line. Nader was nowhere to be found. Turns out he and his professional partner knew Castaic’s secrets, because they brought back the limit – five bass fish – including the biggest fish of the day at 4 pounds, 12 ounces.” Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 06 August 2018 →